The INDEPENDENT, June 2, 2005
O SP says “Leave wild ones alo n e”
T h e O re g o n S ta te P o lic e
Fish and W ild life D ivision in St.
H e le n s re c e n tly re c e iv e d a
te le p h o n e call fro m a w e ll-in
te n tio n e d citize n reporting th a t
she w as at a local police d e
p a rtm e n t w ith an ab an d o n e d
d e e r faw n in her vehicle.
E ach year, the O re g o n S tate
P olice respond to m a ny calls of
this nature. D uring May, d e e r
fa w n s are being born, as w ell
as m o st o th e r w ild life th a t m ay
be e n co u n te re d in C o lu m b ia
C ounty. Deer, it seem s, are e s
p e c ia lly v u ln e ra b le to b e in g
fo u n d and “ re scu e d ” by kind-
hearted people w h o ju s t w a n t
to help.
U nfortunately, picking up a
faw n at this tim e of yea r will do
m ore harm than good and is a
violation of O regon law. For the
first few m onths of their lives,
de er fa w n s’ best defense is to
stay very still and “hide” from
any threat or danger. The doe is
usually close by, and there is lit
tle doubt that the doe is w atching
the person approaching. T h e
faw n has not been abandoned
and, if left alone, the doe will
soon return to take care of it.
“ R escuing” the faw n by hum ans,
results in little or no possibility of
reuniting the tw o and the faw n
m ay be forced to live its life in a
zoo or other facility.
Do not d istu rb baby an im a ls
th a t you m ay find, as the m o th
er w ill m o st p ro b a b ly return as
soon as you leave. R em oving
th e se a n im a ls fro m the w ild is a
C la ss A M is d e m e a n o r c rim e
w ith a p o ssible fine of $5,00 0
and a y e a r in the C o u n ty Jail.
If you find an anim al th a t re
ally c o n c e rn s you, leave it and
no tify the O re g o n S tate P olice
- St. H elen s w o rk s ite at 503-
3 9 7 -0 3 2 5 o r th ro u g h o u r 24-
h o u r N orthern C o m m a n d C e n
te r at 5 0 3 -3 9 7 -3 1 3 1 .
Bits & Bites
By Jacqueline Ramsay
A h ,
S pring. I
fin a lly
g o t in to
t
h
e
w e e d
patch of
flo w e r s .
I th in k I’ll
let it all
go to m o ss and gra ss this fall.
H ow m a ny of you w atched
A nim al P lane ts 40 M ost Fa
m ous A n im a ls on M ay 15? Bull-
w in kle is still in the top 20 -
K erm it the frog w as #2, Lassie
is still the #1 choice. C ountry
M usic A w ard s w ere interesting,
Top Song “ Live Like You W ere
D ving.” Top Duo, still on top,
Deer mice are common in Columbia
County and hantavirus is a concern
T h e 1993 H a n ta viru s o u t
b re a k in the S o u th w e ste rn U.S.
focu sed a ttentio n on the role of
d e e r m ice in sp re a d in g the d is
ease. H a n ta viru s ca u se s a flu
like illness w hich p ro g re sse s to
seve re lung edem a. W hen the
dise ase w a s still unknow n , u p
w ard s o f 60 p e rce n t of th o se in
fected died. W ith im p ro ve d d i
ag n o stics and b e tte r su p p o rtive
care, the rate has d ro p p e d to
a b o u t 40 percent.
C a se s have now been c o n
firm ed fro m a b o u t 30 states, in
c lu d in g O re g o n , W a s h in g to n
and C alifornia. M ost of the O re
gon ca se s (5) have com e fro m
C en tral O re g o n bu t on e w a s in
W a sh in g to n C ounty. T h e re w a s
at least one case in the C astle
R ock/T oledo area of W a s h in g
ton.
T h e prim a ry re se rvo ir fo r the
viru s se e m s to be the d e e r
m o u se . R o d e n ts are n a tu ra l
h o sts fo r all know n typ e s of
H a n ta viru se s around the w orld.
H um a ns are infected fro m e x
p o s u re to ro d e n t d ro p p in g s ,
urine or saliva tha t con tain the
virus. P erson to person tra n s
m ission has not been d e m o n
stra ted in the U nited S tates.
H a n ta v iru s in fe c tio n ra te s
am ong d e e r m ice va ry w id e ly
by both g e o g ra p h y and year.
T h e S o u th w e s t se e m s to have
a m uch hig h e r base rate o f in
fe ctio n in th e ir d e e r m ice p o p u
lations. It is a lso c le a r th a t large
in cre a se s in d e e r m ice p o p u la
tio n s in an y lo ca lity can trig g e r
in c re a s e s in th e H a n ta viru s in
fectio n.
D e e r m ic e a re e x tre m e ly
co m m o n in C o lu m b ia C ounty.
In rural areas, th e y are m ore
c o m m o n th a n th e E u ro p e a n
ho use m ouse. T h e y are d is tin
g u ish e d fro m o th e r sp e c ie s by
th e ir w hite u n d e rb e lly fur.
D e e r m ic e are g e n e ra lly
nocturnal. T h e ir ne sts m a y be
fo u n d in trees, autos, g a ra g e s
and houses. T h e y ea t grains,
berries, seeds, fu n g i an d in
sects. D eer m ice are part of the
fo o d
b a s e fo r c a rn iv o re s ,
sna kes and birds.
H an taviru s in cid e n ts in the
P acific N o rth w e st re in force the
notion th a t ro den ts d o n ’t belong
in o u r houses. If you ha ve ro
dents, you sho uld re m ove the
three th in g s n e c e s s a ry fo r th e ir
surviva l: food, w a te r and sh e l
ter. C le a n up s p ille d fo o d s ,
Page 9
kee p d ish e s clean and place
g a rba ge in a can w ith a tig h t-fit
ting lid eve ry eve ning . Do not
leave pet foo d out. Feed yo u r
pe t and re m ove the rem aining
foo d afte r th irty m inutes.
S urve y yo u r house to locate
m e ans o f entry. All o p e n in g s
sho uld be tigh tly scre ene d o r
blocked.
To rem ove an e xistin g in fe s
tatio n, tra p as needed. D eer
m ice are not tra p shy like rats
q u ickly becom e. P oison baits
m a y be needed in som e s itu a
tio n s but be ve ry ca re fu l in th e ir
use.
M ost se rio u s exp o su re is to
people living in areas w ith large
active d e e r m ice infestations.
C aution is needed w he n c le a n
in g ; c o m in g in c o n ta c t w ith
m o u s e d ro p p in g s o r m o u s e
urine (even dried) can increase
the risk of infection. C u rrent
re co m m e n d a tio n s are to w et-
m op areas w ith a dilu te bleach
s o lu tio n ra th e r th a n using a
v a c u u m cle a n e r. P u ttin g the
v iru s a irb orn e and the n inhaling
it is not good.
For m ore in fo rm a tion, go to
h ttp ://w w w .d h s.sta te .o r.u s/p u b li
ch e a lth /a c d /h a n ta /in d e x .c fm .
B rooks & D unn. E n te rta in e r of
the year, K enny C hesney.
A personal o b se rva tio n - the
ch a n ce s of m e e v e r seeing a
new S enio r C e n te r bu ilt any
pla ce in V e rn o n ia is g e ttin g
d im m er and dim m er. T h e flood
w as in ‘96 and w e still d o n ’t
h a ve all c o n c e rn e d on th e
sam e page, no r the d u cks in a
row.
W hile I’m at it, if m y c o m
m ent in the M ay 19 issue o f
fended the seniors, I apolog ize.
I w as not putting the s e n io rs
do w n n o r a tta c k in g a n y o n e .
T he da y the pa int w e n t on, be
fore it w as dry, I received phone
calls w an ting to kno w “w h a t are
you S enio rs th in k in g ? ” I d id n ’t
know until S u n d a y w h a t th e y
w ere talkin g about, until I s a w it
m y s e lf!
P eace?
D is s id e n ts
have th e right to a v o ic e also.
I see the h ig h w a y c re w (one
of the m ) is ba ck in to w n - I’ve
never seen dits, d o ts and d a s h
es put dow n like this, be fore the
c re w s ju s t painted , b u t I am
w a itin g w ith bated b re a th e fo r
th e B rid g e /R o se lines to be fi
nalized.
I fin a lly g o t o v e r to the Lake
to view the lights, 10:00 p.m .,
65°, slig h t bre e ze rustling the
tre e s. T h e bull frog w as sing in g
to his lady love and a fe w birds
w e re chirping. I sat and re m i
nisce d on the pla y at W G S , T h e
M u sic M an. It w as w ell w orth
th e tim e. T h e kids w e re great.
S o lo s ve ry w ell d o n e and on
key. C o n g ra tu la tio n s to all, th is
in c lu d e s the te a c h e rs and ba ck
sta g e crew.
O ne m o re th in g . D o e s y o u r
c a t q u a lify as a b lo c k h e a d ?
M ine do e s - He c a m e in th e
open
back
d o o r,
w a lk e d
th ro u g h th e h o u s e a n d s a t
do w n in fro n t o f the c lo s e d d o o r
an d m e w e d until I ca m e and
opene d th e d o o r and scre e n so
he could go outside. T h is is a
d a ily thin g w ith him.
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